A new low-cost cooling and heating solution

This groundbreaking project was conceptualised by NGN to investigate how vortex tubes could be used in our pressure regulating stations (PRS), to provide a lower cost, more environmentally friendly cooling and heating platform for our customers.

We needed to develop our understanding of an alternate heating solution that reduces spending and drastically cuts down emissions from pressure regulating stations. Way beyond anything previously delivered in the UK before, the theoretical project used Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling to see how vortex tubes react with different measures of velocity, pressure and temperatures within our PRS, which pre-heat and regulate energy before going into people’s homes.

The benefit of using vortex tubes is that they only use gaseous compositions or ambient air to generate desired temperatures - meaning fewer emissions, and a significant reduction in operational costs the benefits of which can be passed on to our customers.

We currently use industrial-scale water bath heaters and boilers, powered by methane from the grid, or electricity to pre-heat our gas so it doesn’t damage our infrastructure if temperatures drop. Vortex tubes use no external energy and need no third-party requirements, meaning a much smaller footprint and less maintenance as there’s no replacement parts to fix.

The solution will provide a more reliable and resilient network, with a reduction in maintenance. This feasibility project has provided vital new knowledge into the system requirements, capability and viability of deploying this gas heating innovation, concluding that it is a real option for the future.

The next step is to secure significant funding to take the project to real life testing, along with other technologies.